Posted
by
kdawson
on Monday June 07, 2010 @05:59PM
from the slates-for-days dept.

MojoKid writes "At Computex 2010, devices like the Eee Pad and Eee Tablet were all the rage. Of course the bulk of these were Intel Atom-based systems, but there were a number of NVIDIA Tegra 2-based models in the mix as well. What is glaringly apparent on all of these tablets — and absent on the iPad — are the multitude of connectivity options built into them, like USB ports, flash card readers, and video output ports. Obviously, from a hardware perspective, the iPad is a sexy device; but Apple's true mastery is that of the user interface. The first big player that steps up with something competitive to Apple in that regard will have the pole position in 2010's race for the hot re-emergent tablet market." Reader Raikus adds an opinionated
summary of winners and losers at "Tabletpalooza," i.e. Computex 2010.

I'd say the Android OS is on its way. The one thing I'd want to see is the manufactures not crippling the device. I'd prefer a vanilla version or one somewhat optimized for a tablet interface. I've been using the Ubuntu Netbook Remix on my netbook for a few months now and am fairly happy with it. Does anybody have an opinion on whether this option may be a little more prepared for "prime time" than Android?

I also use UNR on a netbook; but I don't think I'd use it on a tablet.

Essentially, UNR is largely identical to desktop Ubuntu's take on Gnome(theme, default programs, etc.); but with a launcher and windowing defaults that make more sense on fairly low resolution screens. In my opinion, it does that reasonably well. However, the moment you actually hit any of the application buttons, you are right back in a (full screen) version of a standard desktop application.

Neither. It's mainly purchased due to a desire to conform to what the majority have, mainly for interoperability with others (work, gamers,...). It's purchased because it has the majority of marketshare.

It's tough to make the same claim when Apple went from zero phones in 2007 to what they have today, or the introduction of the iPad which again went from 0 to todays 2 million in a matter of weeks.

or the introduction of the iPad which again went from 0 to todays 2 million in a matter of weeks.

That's the best evidence of good marketing I've come across. It's an unproven device which few people had even seen, let alone had the chance to try out, yet preorders and early orders came in by the hundreds of thousands.

People want to conform to a majority brand: the Apple brand offers social interoperability. No-one does real work on an Apple iDevice - they're for the guy in Starbucks always writing his first bestseller, taken mainstream. If you think you're the exception, you're on the spaceship with the management consultants (how I miss '70s and '80s Apple..).

That's the best evidence of good marketing I've come across. It's an unproven device which few people had even seen, let alone had the chance to try out, yet preorders and early orders came in by the hundreds of thousands.

In stores, before you buy an iPad, you can try one. Even before the iPad was announced, you would have experience of the OS from the iPhone. And ultimately, you can return it, if it doesn't meet your expectations.

There's absolutely no way whatsoever Apple's current success can have been achieved primarily by marketing. For marketing to work, long-term, you have to have a great product behind it.

People want to conform to a majority brand: the Apple brand offers social interoperability.

Apple had zero smartphones sold just three years ago. Now they have tens of millions. These people all bought iPhones because it was already a majority consumer brand?

No-one does real work on an Apple iDevice - they're for the guy in Starbucks always writing his first bestseller, taken mainstream.

I can guarantee you more "real work" is done on iOS than on Android OS. But it's a silly metric to use, unless you think that people should only own things that are used for "real work", or that the iPad is primarily targeted as a device for "real work".

"Real work" (whatever that means) is still primarily the role of the PC (whether Windows or Mac). The iPad is useful to augment "real work", but isn't something that's yet set to replace the PC for that purpose. Which is why no one every says it should, outside of those that use it as a reason to put it down.

Apple had zero smartphones sold just three years ago. Now they have tens of millions. These people all bought iPhones because it was already a majority consumer brand?

I won't say all of them did, but as a complete anecdote: the marketing head at my company recently requested an iPad to display documents and presentations to customers instead of paper or slides. It only has a 10" diagonal screen, so any real text will be marginally legible unless we reformat all our material to fit in nearly half the square

Apple had zero smartphones sold just three years ago. Now they have tens of millions. These people all bought iPhones because it was already a majority consumer brand?

I won't say all of them did, but as a complete anecdote: the marketing head at my company recently requested an iPad to display documents and presentations to customers instead of paper or slides.

So, you're saying this is indicative of the average (or even of a significant minority of) iPad buyer? If not, then it's not clear how this is relevant.

It only has a 10" diagonal screen, so any real text will be marginally legible unless we reformat all our material to fit in nearly half the square inches and a fraction of the resolution.

This is clearly not going to make his presentations more effective than a laptop, except for the "we're as awesome as those guys on the news who use an iPad instead of a written notes" factor

Why would it be any less effective than a laptop? If it's a large meeting, he can connect it to the same projector he would connect the laptop to. If it's a small, more personal meeting, the iPad is likely to be quite a bit better suited than a laptop, since it's going to be easier to handle and even be passed around.

Be aware, though, that(contrary to expectations developed in using PCs, including the OSX-running ones), iPad VGA out doesn't just automatically mirror the internal screen. Support is per-application, and at the application developer's sole discretion. Oh the sob stories from people planning to use the netflix app on a large screen...

There's such an obvious difference between a satisfied customer and a fanboy that it takes an Apple fanboy to blur it.

I'm a satisfied customer of Microsoft as far as Windows 7 goes, but I am not "loyal" to Microsoft and I'm not a "fan"atic of the brand. If tomorrow they release another product, I'll wait and see and take advantage of any trials. Same applies to Apple. This simply doesn't fit in with pre-ordering or first month ordering frenzies.

Well, I have an iPhone and I'm happy with it, but I don't think that makes me an Apple fanboy. Every time I use my brother's mac, I get annoyed with the user interface. I'm going to wait for the v2 iPad before deciding if I want one or not. I'm tempted by a v4 iPhone but I'll probably wait until next year, my 18-month-old 3G is enough for me.

The iPod sold because the other PMPs at the time sucked ass or blew chunk, your choice. One thing I'll give old Steve credit for, he may be an asshole, but that man knows how to get a good UI designed. The players at the time had craploads of buttons, usually menus upon submenus, nothing at all was intuitive or was where you would expect it to be, frankly they all sucked.

As for the other iDevices, never underestimate herd mentality. Sure they work great, nothing wrong with them that I know of, but when my 67 year old dad, who is about as clueless as they come and is about as "cutting edge" as a stone age hammer, says he is thinking about an iPhone cause some of his friends have them and they "look spiffy"? yeah, don't underestimate herd mentality or keeping up with the Joneses. On a positive note, I've been getting all his tech fad hand me downs since he got a Trash 80 when they were all over the TV, so if he wants to play with a new shiny, who am I to stop him?;-)

at the time? I have tried 4 separate Android based tablets recently. They all STILL suck horribly. Battery life is good for the better ones, but they all STILL use a horribly out of date Android OS release with no plans to offer any upgrade.

It's tough to make the same claim when Apple went from zero phones in 2007 to what they have today

I don't see why the comment of "zero phones" is relevant. Three years is a long time in phone technology, and Apple were and are a billion dollar company, one of the largest technology companies around (bigger than Microsoft by value, by some measures).

So the idea that Apple are some small startup who deserve a cookie for entering the phone market and getting to where they are (a whole 5% of the market, inciden

That's a ridiculously argumentative question based on a false dichotomy.

I don't buy Windows because it's technically the best AND I don't buy it because it has the best marketing team. I buy Windows because it runs Adobe CS5 and Ableton, and because I am familiar with the Windows interface. Doubtless, other people buy Windows for different reasons.

If your false dichotomy truly represented the only two reasons why people purchase Windows, open source systems would have no trouble displacing Windows.

Is Windows purchased because it is technically the best, or because it has the best marketing team aimed at the target market?

How about neither. Windows is purchased because the majority of other people/companies also purchased Windows. It's called network effects [wikipedia.org] and there is a lot of value in using software that is maximally compatible with what everyone else uses.

Of course one could make the heretical argument that for many people Windows might actually have been the best choice for their needs and budget at the time of purchase. I know, crazy world in which we live.

And 10 years ago when the hype was on MS, Slashdot was a place to be sceptical of such market hype, and a place to discuss other (more open) systems.

Now? It's Apple who are loved here, with people taken in by the marketing, far more so in the general public (e.g., the Iphone only has about 5% market share in general, similarly for Macs). It is funny to see people saying they "Think Different" whilst telling us that they're buying what they think everyone else is buying.

I think it would be more accurate to say that Apple already has the pole position (no pun intended),

In your opinion. They have pole position of media hype - which came before the product was even announced. There are plenty of tablets, netbooks and other portable devices out there.

On that note, I'm confused by TFS - it points out a flaw in the Ipad compared to all the other devices, yet then goes onto give an obligitary Slashvertisement praise about how the Ipad is allegedly the best (go on, give us an exa

Yes and no. In two years time, i'm sure some 'android' equivalent will establish itself as a real competitor, and it's fan's will claim that it is the best thing since sliced bread and that nothing Apple does is 'orignal' or 'new', all the while forgetting that their tablet probably has it's roots, and it's very existence based on an attempt to 'best the iPad'. The same is true for the iPhone and the current crop of Android devices.

Simply creating a device is only half the challenge. You also have to do it

You must have one of those special iPads, then - the ones Steve Jobs is selling [apple.com] have a Dock Connector Port, though you can hang a cable with a USB connector off of that, or plug into a dock. It's not part of the tablet itself, it's an external device, so it's annoying at best if you're trying to connect things to a tablet as opposed to a desktop-mounted thing. Also, I can't tell from the documentation how many of those things you can use simultaneously - obviously you can't use the Dock-to-VGA cable and the Dock-to-USB cable at the same time, but if you've got the Dock or Keyboard Dock, can you use both the VGA and the USB at once? It doesn't look like it.

With USB, if the device only has one port (boring), you can hang a powered hub off it to support keyboard, mouse, Ethernet adapter, etc, but AFAIK there's no equivalent fanout for Dock ports. So your iPad battery had better be charged up before you use it with an external screen, and you'd better have a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and Wifi.

It's one thing for Apple to try to use proprietary connectors to keep you locked in to Apple's world. But it's another thing entirely to be Not User Friendly as a result, or to be Ugly and Klunky instead of Insanely Cool-Looking.

I agree that iPad should have at least one powered USB port. But I think that if you are plugging it into an external monitor, keyboard and mouse then you aren't using it correctly. Have you even tried using one? It's a multitouch interface. A mouse doesn't even make sense.

The dongle nonsense leaves a lot of questions open, just like variousapp based hacks that are meant to re-create basic OS level functionalitydo. The mere existence of some cobble-ware solution doesn't mean it isn'tsomething that would embarrass a mid-90's era Linux user.

I'm confused by the summary, myself. My iPad has a USB port -- albeit an unusual one -- and can do video output to an external display. Do those connectivity options not count because the USB port's shape is unusual, or because it doesn't have a flash card reader?

It does have a flash card reader. In fact, the iPad has all three things listed as omissions in the summary.

I just looked at the iPad specifications on apple.com and couldn't find any mention of an SD slot. Did I miss something?

Yes, but...

I'd really like to know if the iPad does indeed have an SD slot because that might make it worth having. I'm not talking about some kludgey dongle thing that will let me read SD cards, but an actual slot on the side.

It's an adaptor for the dock connector on the bottom of the iPad. It's very compact (much smaller than most USB SD readers). Being able to bring it with me on vacation to sync photos means I can leave my notebook at home, and to me that's *HUGE*.

It's also very well integrated with the Photos app, including supporting RAW files, skipping already imported items, deleting from the card when you're done, syncing photos back to your PC, etc. Yes, these are all things one would expect from a properly d

That's just for MicroSD, which doesn't apply to most cameras. By going with SD and USB, they cover all the bases quite well. The SD adaptor is really quite small, google for "iPad camera connection kit" to get an idea. It's quite a bit smaller than a book of matches.

It's an adaptor for the dock connector on the bottom of the iPad. It's very compact (much smaller than most USB SD readers). Being able to bring it with me on vacation to sync photos means I can leave my notebook at home, and to me that's *HUGE*.

I dont understand that. I take 18 megapixel images, On "vacation" I take nearly 1000 photos. even the biggest flash sized ipad cant candle the photos I take. It's why I own a imagetank.

Are you taking tiny 4 megapixel images, or only taking maybe a handful? then

Obviously, from a shiny perspective, the iPad is a new device; but Apple's true mastery is that of the lack of a user interface.

In what way is an inanimate piece of plastic sexy? It's only advantage is that it does a few tasks adequately.Everything it does, there is a device that does it better, just not all in one shiny white idiot-proof case.

That is true to a certain extent but there is still room for innovation or, at least, variation. The iPad is a slick bit of industrial design, but that doesn't mean someone couldn't come up with a different design that would work as well or maybe even better. When you look at the photos of these hopeful competitors, however, it's pretty obvious that they're all pretty much iPad clones.

I see this argument a lot in defense of other mfrs copying Apple designs. While it certainly has some validity, I wonder, can anyone find an example of a tablet released before the iPad that looks nearly as much like it as these do?

ditto, the average person wants something that he can poke at and make work. If it's as simple as the interface that biologists provide monkeys in research cells, all the better. He wants to poke at the red square and get a treat, or when he wants other treat, poke at the blue one. Uneducated users are afraid of the unknown, and software that they would have to test and use themselves to determine the quality of is well beyond their knowledge base (unknown = bad). Unless something has been vetted through nerds (us) who have the knowledge and expertise to know quality, OR everybody and their mother uses it, it's unknown and only potentially not ungood.

Unfortunately, until some manufacturer comes out with something that is simple (red square = treat) and as good (face it, the iphone/ipad is quality-ish hardware and its interface does work), the apple products will continue. Just because it lacks a few features that 75% of the population doesn't use (only we wish that we could hook up a keyboard or mouse, everyone will continue to be happy jabbing at the screen instead of jabbing at a keyboard), doesn't mean that something that you can be more productive on will dethrone it.

Check this out [gizmodo.com] if you want to see an iPad controlled by a mouse.

The mouse support code is there, it's just disabled by default. It is a little half-baked however, since drag scrolling is the opposite behavior of most mouse users (dragging up to scroll down). My guess is that Apple is working on it for a future release of iOS, but, just like copy and paste, doesn't want to release it until it works well.

I don't think you're getting it. If you want a mouse AND a keyboard, get a laptop. The iPad isn't a laptop. It really is not meant to do everything a laptop can do. That doesn't make it bad, lame, or crippled. It's just not a laptop.

There's no good reason that a tablet couldn't start acting more like a desktop once a mouse and keyboard are plugged in.

Walk around, use it as a tablet. Then sit it down and dock it and actually start touch typing with it like a real computer.

There are lots of interesting possibilities if you aren't treating it as a pregnant ipod. This stuff doesn't even have to annoy the n00b in order for it to be available to the rest of us. If anything, the OpenStep version of MacOS readily demonstrates that.

lets not forget that the iphone ads are basically show and tell videos of how to do different things with the built in features.

Though you have to admit, those are the best ways to advertise. Granted the iphone isn't as fast as the commercials, but it's displaying real world features that are usable by everyone. I actually like those show-and-tell ads more than the ones that were outright lies (The whole internet, not the... etc. But they didn't tell you that flash didn't work, that you couldn't get 3g, a feature firmly established in previous generation smartphones, and that certain sites would pick up on the iphone and show you mo

yea, they make sense. It just irks me when people claim the iphone and so on are "discoverable" or whatever the word is, when apple keep running those ads.

but then much of what we label as common sense is more accepted "truths" picked up by way of observing other humans in action than anything really "common". I guess we all remember what we want to remember.

Fixed that for ya.1. There is nothing sexy about a crippled CPU with no connectivity.
2. People can't handle choices. If you give them a device with only a few buttons, then it's like a microwave and they're happy.

These are - by definition - mobile devices.

When you are on the road with your kids, what you want is a reliable cell phone, a GPS that delivers clear and accurate directions. The pocketable still or video camera, Perhaps a book to read, some music, movies or games to help pass the time.

Wow, a blatant troll at +3 insightful. Well, I suppose it only takes a handful of mods.

1. There is nothing sexy about a crippled CPU with no connectivity.

There is something intriguing, and perhaps sexy from the right viewpoint, about a device that responds instantly and smoothly to your input, and which has consumer-level (finished) applications that look gorgeous. A device that was nothing but "shiny" would have no, or few, practical applications, and any consumer level app is or can be considered a "practical application"--it's something you would pay money to do, use, or have. Or, well, not any, I guess, but I think the size of the market supposes pretty clearly, if only by sheer virtue of statistics, that there are in fact practical applications for it.

2. People can't handle choices. If you give them a device with only a few buttons, then it's like a microwave and they're happy.

I disagree with your oversimplification. A platform like Windows or Linux allows anyone who develops applications to say, "You need to be this geeky to install and use this application." This is by far one of the most straightforward, and yet it is somehow one of the most hotly debated, reversals of the iOS: they do not allow you to jump through hoops in order to get extra functionality, which means that the programmers either have to begrudgingly improve their GUI skills or limit functionality altogether.

The reason is simple--the people they're marketing to will go cross-eyed if you talk to them about a topic they would need to study for months or years to understand at the same level you would, and believe it or not, computers and programming are such a topic. If your life is already computer-centric, understanding computers is no big deal. If your life is centered around construction work, business deals, hair salons, clothing design, or any of the other (completely fucking legitimate) career paths out there, saying "You have to spend months learning computers before this $500 tablet and this particular $2 application become useful to you" is going to lose you customers.

If instead you tell those same customers, "We promise we won't let the programmers do anything that's going to confuse the crap out of you, for instance, try this $2 app that you can start using right away! And there are more that are just as easy!" you now have a customer, and probably more on the way

I mean, in some ways I feel you. I've been a computer user literally longer than I can remember, and the idea of having a tablet that can also have cron jobs and shell scripts running in the background is delicious. But no, dude, don't yell at the Norms for being Normal. Give it a year or two and there will be some kind of really excellent Linux tablet that does everything a geek could ever want. You don't have to try to turn this one into that miracle product. Just let it be.

Just to pick up on your point of 'a device that responds instantly and smoothly to your input', I have seen video of iPads and iPhones and they don't seem to respond instantly, they have zooming and sliding and all the other crap that I switch off on desktop machines. Can this crap be disabled on iPhone/iPad?

No, but it's not as obtrusive as you might think, but it may put some people off. The different pages of apps on your home screens slide sideways when you swipe your finger, but they move as fast as your finger does; so if you do a demo you can do it slowly. If you are using the phone day to day you swipe without thinking and it happens rapidly, but enough that you can see what it is doing (better feedback than just instantly blinking to the next page).

Again, I know you're trolling, but ffs. There are different levels of geekery needed at different levels of technical requirement, and sometimes, you may not even know you're moving up to the next bracket where things are going to get geekier.

Not every program developed for windows comes with a fully packaged installer, and programs from previous versions have problems like missing dlls, compatibility requirements, or just out-of-the-box, unfixable failure.

>> 1. There is nothing sexy about a crippled CPU with no connectivity.>> Internet connectivity not enough for you? Are you holding out for wormhole connectivity?

No it isn't. I would like to be able to connect to my own home network. I want to print without any stupid hacks. I want to be able to save stuff and to read stuff that I have stored on other computers. I don't want to be limited to Apple-only standards and incomplete 3rd party tools. I don't want to have to deal with some lame app that

The first big player that steps up with something competitive to Apple in that regard

Haven't prognosticators been saying this exact same thing for years about the iPod and the iTunes store?

The song goes something like this: "We've got hardware! It's got MIPS and ports and pixels and gigabytes! All we need now is easy to use software. See that word 'easy'? That must mean it's EASY to build."

As a geek, I'm not interested in an iPad because it's missing hardware options, but to the regular consumer the shiny, easy, hip user experience is everything.

I like my iPad because it is missing hardware options. I spent too many years in the day job getting hardware A talking to hardware B with Software X on 2 - 3 different Operating systems. After a decade of that I'm to the point where lack of hardware options is kind of a feature. I got rid of my MacBook Pro and went to a iPad 3G as all I do these days is email, skype (chat mostly), and write proposals and do some web surfing. The only thing I wanted was the ability to attach a keyboard and the apple wir

I'm probably going to get modded down by fan boys for my blasphemy, but...

Lack of USB ports, card readers, and video outputs and the like are features? Seriously!?

You do realize that the reason that there are compatibility issues that exist within the PC world is not simply because of hardware options, but because of the fact that every single piece of the system is customizable. Every piece of hardware, every piece of software, and even the OS can be picked by a user. The more variables there are, the more possibility that there can be unexpected interactions.

However, if you have a locked down platform where you control the OS and the hardware that is present, then the chances of random compatibilities goes down incredibly. That's without even taking into account having control of the software too.

My XBox 360 has more hardware features than my Wii does, and amazingly I haven't had a single compatibility problem with it. My friend has no issues with his DSi, even though it has more hardware features than his old DS. I'm going to take a stab in the dark and guess that if Apple had added additional hardware features to their iPad, then the chances are they'd work without compatibility issues.

I think that one could argue legitimate reasons for exclusion of certain hardware exclusions. I might disagree, but reasonable arguments could be made. However this one just seems silly. I might have a lot of criticisms for Apple, but they seem to do well in quality control; I have faith that they could pull off hardware features that work.

Seems to come back to a view of the world at this time.
Apples sees it as a pure content delivery device with lock down and photo usb as an afterthought.
Windows was the same with sound, video drm ect.
Your just renting time and buying products on their devices.
I hope other devices have real computer like support.
Webcam to flash to a webpage in real time, tethering, telco options, real software and media options to fit your life, not just fill Apples coffers.
Someone needs to do I am a "Ipad" and I am a

TFA talks about additional ports and card slots. Are those defining characteristics? Whether they are or not, what they symbolize is an extension of the PC-centric model of computing that the iPad does not. Many people have said, and I agree, that the iPad is a computing appliance and not a true computer. That's actually its greatest strength. In the sense that Apple has created a market for tablet devices these potential competitors are misreading that market if we see a slew of Windows 7 tablet compu

The iPad needs access to files, be they movies, music, letters, faxes, PDF's, pictures, contracts.... It also would be great if it could connect to multiple computers to share those files. Bluetooth transfer of files would be nice. Printing would be nice too. iTunes is just brain dead. This is coming from people who bought as a gadget who don't know about it's limitations.

TFA talks about additional ports and card slots. Are those defining characteristics? Whether they are or not, what they symbolize is an extension of the PC-centric model of computing that the iPad does not.

Beyond symbolism, what they represent is an easy, simple, straightforward and tactile way for people to copy their shit from one device to another without being leashed to Itunes, or jumping through bizarre hoops. If you want to do anything other than CONsume the paid-for media that Apple has sold you, th

The only way a tablet will make it in the consumer market now is if it lets you watch flash-based porn on it. Soon even that will be gone, as the porn industry moves to HTML5/H264.

Basically, the rest of the market is fucked. Nobody can put out a device with the screen and build quality at the price points that Apple has, because nobody else has the volume to do it cost-effectively.

IPS screens are expensive...unless you buy them in bulk. The same goes with anything Apple is buying for their devices. Flash me

Basically, the rest of the market is fucked. Nobody can put out a device with the screen and build quality at the price points that Apple has, because nobody else has the volume to do it cost-effectively.

Huh? People have been making tables for years. My personal all-time faveourite is/was teh HP-Compaq T1100. The screen is actually a wacom tablet. Anyway...

There is no lack of connectivity on iPad. It has a 30-pin iPod dock connector, which is multiple ports in one, for the same reason as an iPod: it's too thin for the other ports it replaces. There is USB, video out, and a number of other cables in an iPod dock connector, so there is no lack of connectivity. A device with a micro-USB port is no better off, you still need a cable with the right ends for whatever device. iPad supports USB audio, hubs, keyboards, and card readers. It supports VGA, component, and composite video out. iPad also works with many iPod accessories, such as credit card readers, which is something other tablets can't say. iPad connects directly to iTunes, which makes it easy to transfer music, movies, books, documents, podcasts onto and off of the device. And it supports Bonjour (zero configuration networking) so it appears as "iPad.local" on the network. Bluetooth keyboards, audio, and controls. It jumps on and off Wi-Fi networks very easily as you move around. There's no shortage of connectivity.

When comparing iPad competitors, it's going to be way, way, way more instructive to compare software, which is 95% of this kind of device. Look at firmware, system, native C apps, HTML5 Web apps, and cloud services. The software that runs the touchscreen is very important to whether the device is practical. Also, usability is very important in consumer electronics.

Maybe the summary means other tablets are vying for pole position in the race to compete with iPad, but if talking about the market as a whole, iPad is way out in front by any measure. They already outsold all other tablets from the past 25 years.

What is glaringly apparent on all of these tablets — and absent on the iPad — are the multitude of connectivity options built into them, like USB ports, flash card readers, and video output ports.

Christ, whats wrong with these people? Make it *NICE TO USE*, and THEN worry about slowly trickling out new features!

Are you really going to take X over Y because it has an IR transmitter? Maybe the Slashdot audience, but certainly not the majority of consumers, you know those people whos money is just as worthy as the tech elite?

Make it nice! Make it lovely, a pleasure to use! I actually imported an iPad, without even seeing one in the metal, and ended up paying EXTRA. And yet, I am wildly happy with my iPad, cannot imagine living without it. Would I want "Tablet Y" even if it were cheaper and had a Serial port? NO! Because every other tablet SUCKS!

I actually fear for the other manufacturers, who have clung to Android. I think its bad to build Google into this all important Super-Company in every market. It means we get locked down into Android...or nothing...because theres no third option.

I hope HP does well with WebOS, the big thing with getting ANY portable computer essential is that its NICE to use! Not some hacked together lump of plastic and ports.

A man with a Netbook came into my work today, he was measuring furniture and entering it onto the HP Netbook. He was pushing a pram, AND holding this open screened Netbook down each aisle, incredibly awkward looking! I couldnt help but imagine how much better using my iPad would be for the task. I could easily hold my iPad in one hand, and tap-type with the other, instead of walking about with this big (it looked huge and flimsy) Netbook with a crappy screen. For each entry, he had to place it on something, and crouch over to type a few numbers into the spreadsheet. I'm sure I can type many times faster on a physical keyboard than my iPads software keyboard, but not in that scenario! How fast are you when crouched over, pecking out keys in a public space? Holding with one hand, tap typing with the other, I would be much more efficient using my iPad in this situation. Of course, a smartphone would have been better yet.

For the love of god Hardware Companies, make NICE products, dont just worry about what never to be used port you can slap on the ugly sides!

What an appropriate Slashdot quote "The truth of a thing is the feel of it, not the think of it. -- Stanley Kubrick"

I'll take something useful over something pretty anyday. Useful AND pretty is a bonus. However, like the iPad, pretty and not useful is an epic fail.

For the average person, why get excited about plugging in SD cards? That then require your slick looking device having a permanent gash...

See, in the real world, there are people who have these things called "files". A great way to transfer these "files" from one device to another is either a USB drive or a SD card. It's infinitely better than having to take your iPad, plug it in, load iTunes, and then go through it's horrific sync system that only syncs files for programs Apple chooses to le

Oh, so you have a bandolier of SD cards strapped around you, and you change "mags" a dozen times a day with your phone/tablet device? Why not just get the storage space you require, INTERNALLY?

Well, your beloved Apple limits the iPad to 64 GB (for way too much money) or a measly 16 GB which stores....well, not much. SD cards would fix that just fine - cell phones have been doing it for years.

If you want a file, why not email or otherwise FTP it to where you want? Rather than carrying things about on little bits of plastic? Or...do it all..."on the cloud"!

Once again, with your "email it" "solution", you're back to needing a second computer just to get a damn file. That's absurd and one of the major failings of the iPad. Secondly, if you want Google / MS / Apple / Other Big Company to have ALL of your personal files (pictures, home videos, word documents, everything) that not only they have access too but a mistake could mean you lose all of your files FOREVER, then to be blunt, you're a damn fool. A little extra convenience is NOT worth losing your privacy or potentially losing all of your files for.

Give me an example of an iPad competitor, thats in the market right now (pretty much worldwide too), that I could have bought instead of my iPad.

Well, you know, there's this thing called "impulse control" - you could start by learning some of that. Then you could wait a few weeks as the Android tablets flood the market. I know - researching before you buy something, it's a crazy idea!

We also have no Apple Stores, those damn attractive, ultra profitable stores, damn them! *shakes fist*

Please, go in one sometime when you're in the US. You'll never want to do business with Apple again. Everything about their stores (from the way the employees talk to customers to the giant displays they have with "tips") tells you blatantly that they think you are a complete moron. It's rather insulting, not to mention that Apple intentionally has about one store per 5 million potential customers, which ensures that you'll always have long waits.

I would personally assume the iPhone 4 is far better than the EVO, but I have actually used neither.

Making decisions about two products you've never used based purely off Lord Jobs' advertising. I can see now why you bought an iPad. I have an iPhone 3GS and I've used phones running Android 2.1. Android not only allows you to run whatever apps you want, to customize whatever apps you want, but it also adds new features at a pace that Apple can't even dream of.

Whats the EVO got? Faster network...actual tethering (although the iPhone can be tethered in basically every OTHER country apart from yours....)....what else?

More memory, expandable storage, higher res cameras (yes, BOTH cameras are higher rest), mini-HDMI port, FM tuner, a kickstand to watching movies / Sprint TV, Flash support, a much bigger screen, and other things I can't think of off the top of my head.

The iPhone 4 will be about the same price (I buy unlocked and run on prepaid plans normally), is slimmer, I think it will have better build quality (my opinion) and definitely a better rear camera, from what we've seen.

Being.1 inches slimmer is an unnoticeable difference. You're basing the "better camera" on what exactly? As for build quality, the Evo has gotten great reviews for build quality, as has just about every HTC phone.

Listen, I know its all cool to hate "the establishment" and all, but judge tech on its own merits, not how your peers feel.

I do buy based off the merits of the technology - that's what my whole disagreement with you has been about. You've been saying people should buy a device because "OMFG it looks cool!" instead of it actually DOING something useful.

What size are the SD cards you are using? Oh wait, dont bother replying, better if we each end it here. 64 GB is quite a lot, especially for a removable storage card...its not like TB SD cards are a couple bucks each:) Hey, I am using most of my 64GB iPad, but if I had a 128GB iPad...I'd be using that...whatever space you have on device, it will practically NEVER be enough! So...you could...stream....to the device? Eh? Its a port

This is, of course the classic scenario for a tablet, and has been for a long time. It's why tablets are so incredibly popular in certain industries. You may also note that many of the toughbook series can operate as tablets.

Hi, yes I know and understand about professional use of tablets in rugged environments, its a bit like NASA space rockets being specialist, I dont expect the average GM car to fly to mars:)

The man with the Netbook was just a regular guy, buying several sideboards, cabinets etc. There was no real reason for him to have the Netbook, he was essentially typing "cabinet A, 3 Metres, $500" into a spreadsheet. A couple years ago, we might have written on a 5 cent piece of paper, with a dollar pen:) I would

Exactly. Plus, "nice" doesn't just mean pretty. Those who don't get this, consider a girlfriend. She can be pretty, but a total bitch. She can treat you like a doormat and make you feel terrible. She could be neurotic and make your life hell. But still, she could be "pretty".

In classical architecture, they talk about "commodity, firmness, and delight". You kinda need all three for any of them to be worth it. That's why Apple can seemingly make compromises but end up with a more popular product.

> Christ, whats wrong with these people? Make it *NICE TO USE*, and THEN worry about slowly trickling out new features!

The problem with "nice to use" is you end up with bad kludges to fill in all the obvious gaps the device is shipped with.

"nice to use" just the excuse du jour for the Apple fanboys. The problem with "nice to use" is tomorrow. All of these"apps" are being built with some very fundemental limitations. Much like old DOS and Windows programs, they will reflectthese limitations far into the f

This man was definitely having to pick his Netbook up, and put it down every few metres to tap out "1.5M $500" etc. Very uncomfortable.

What "Ugly Port" would you use? Ethernet? USB? Firewire? Why not Bluetooth or Wifi? Or a 3G connection? You know, like those sleek and practical iPads. Much better than dragging a USB cable throughout every store you visit:) Our store is...basically the dimensions of a "Football" (as in the international Football) field.